tigerhonaker
09-17-2006, 09:31 PM
GM to build fuel-cell vehicles in Oshawa
100 hydrogen Equinox SUVs to be in hands
of customers in three high-profile U.S. markets starting in 2007
Sep. 17, 2006. 01:00 AM
GERRY MALLOY (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Render&c=Page&cid=968350072197&ce=Columnist&colid=1068030119536)
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
DANA POINT, Calif.—General Motors announced today it will build 100 hydrogen fuel-cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs for U.S. distribution in 2007.
The vehicles will be built by GM of Canada at the company's Regional Engineering Centre in Oshawa.
The initial fleet of 100 will go to customers, including government officials and business leaders in three high-profile, coastal U.S. markets: New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
The announcement, the second major one for the Oshawa operation recently, follows on the heels of Oshawa's choice as the production site for the new Camaro in 2008.
Fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are widely believed to be the way of the future, because they generate no local emissions. The only waste by-product of their conversion of hydrogen and oxygen into electric power is water vapour.
Until GM's announcement, made in conjunction with a drive event for the company's more radical Sequel fuel-cell concept car, that future was expected to be several years away.
That may still be the case in terms of high-volume production, but this limited run of Equinox FCEVs demonstrates that production feasibility may be much closer than generally expected.
GM vice-president Bob Lutz said last week he would push the company's strategy board to approve full production of a fuel-cell vehicle as early as the 2011 model year.
Hundreds of experimental fuel-cell vehicles, from a broad range of automakers, are currently in service in evaluation programs around the world. DaimlerChrysler alone has more than 100 vehicles in use, and Honda has delivered one to a private customer for personal use.
According to Byron McCormick, head of GM's global fuel-cell programs, the fuel-cell Equinox takes the technology to the next level, moving it from the realm of the hypothetical and experimental to the real.
The vehicle has been designed and is being developed the same way as any other production vehicle, including reliability and durability testing, cold weather development and safety testing, he said.
For example, explained Nick Zielinski, chief engineer on the project, the structure of the conventional Equinox was substantially redesigned to protect the vehicle's high-pressure hydrogen fuel tanks and battery pack in a wide array of crash tests, many of them more severe than required by government regulations.
GM is confident that the fuel-cell Equinox will be at least as safe as its conventional counterpart, and probably safer, McCormick said. It is expected to satisfy all U.S. federal safety standards in effect for 2007, the same as any other car.
The Oshawa engineering centre was responsible for much of the engineering design of the conventional Equinox, which is built at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll — a joint venture between GM and Suzuki.
This made GM of Canada the logical source for production of the fuel-cell version. CAMI will build the basic vehicle, with final assembly completed at the Oshawa engineering centre.
The fuel-cell powerplant comprises a fuel-cell stack, where the electro-chemical conversion of hydrogen and oxygen to electric power takes place, an electronic control unit, and an electric motor, as well as various peripherals. That whole integrated unit replaces the conventional engine and transmission to drive the front wheels.
Peak power from the fuel cell is rated at 93 kW (124 hp) and the nickel-metal-hydride battery pack, located beneath the rear seat footwell, can provide up to 35 kW (47 hp). That is similar to the output from the conventional Equinox's four-cylinder gasoline engine.
Three cylindrical fuel tanks, pressurized to 700 bar (10,000 psi) are mounted beneath the rear seat and between the rear wheels. There is no sacrifice of interior cabin space to accommodate the fuel-cell system components, and McCormick said the tanks can be fully refilled in five minutes.
According to Courtney Moody, Chevrolet's marketing director, the 100 vehicles will be assigned for varying periods, ranging to three years, to a broad range of users. Similar programs are planned subsequently for Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.
There are no current plans for distribution of the vehicles in Canada.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1158444613126&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851
100 hydrogen Equinox SUVs to be in hands
of customers in three high-profile U.S. markets starting in 2007
Sep. 17, 2006. 01:00 AM
GERRY MALLOY (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Render&c=Page&cid=968350072197&ce=Columnist&colid=1068030119536)
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
DANA POINT, Calif.—General Motors announced today it will build 100 hydrogen fuel-cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs for U.S. distribution in 2007.
The vehicles will be built by GM of Canada at the company's Regional Engineering Centre in Oshawa.
The initial fleet of 100 will go to customers, including government officials and business leaders in three high-profile, coastal U.S. markets: New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
The announcement, the second major one for the Oshawa operation recently, follows on the heels of Oshawa's choice as the production site for the new Camaro in 2008.
Fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are widely believed to be the way of the future, because they generate no local emissions. The only waste by-product of their conversion of hydrogen and oxygen into electric power is water vapour.
Until GM's announcement, made in conjunction with a drive event for the company's more radical Sequel fuel-cell concept car, that future was expected to be several years away.
That may still be the case in terms of high-volume production, but this limited run of Equinox FCEVs demonstrates that production feasibility may be much closer than generally expected.
GM vice-president Bob Lutz said last week he would push the company's strategy board to approve full production of a fuel-cell vehicle as early as the 2011 model year.
Hundreds of experimental fuel-cell vehicles, from a broad range of automakers, are currently in service in evaluation programs around the world. DaimlerChrysler alone has more than 100 vehicles in use, and Honda has delivered one to a private customer for personal use.
According to Byron McCormick, head of GM's global fuel-cell programs, the fuel-cell Equinox takes the technology to the next level, moving it from the realm of the hypothetical and experimental to the real.
The vehicle has been designed and is being developed the same way as any other production vehicle, including reliability and durability testing, cold weather development and safety testing, he said.
For example, explained Nick Zielinski, chief engineer on the project, the structure of the conventional Equinox was substantially redesigned to protect the vehicle's high-pressure hydrogen fuel tanks and battery pack in a wide array of crash tests, many of them more severe than required by government regulations.
GM is confident that the fuel-cell Equinox will be at least as safe as its conventional counterpart, and probably safer, McCormick said. It is expected to satisfy all U.S. federal safety standards in effect for 2007, the same as any other car.
The Oshawa engineering centre was responsible for much of the engineering design of the conventional Equinox, which is built at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll — a joint venture between GM and Suzuki.
This made GM of Canada the logical source for production of the fuel-cell version. CAMI will build the basic vehicle, with final assembly completed at the Oshawa engineering centre.
The fuel-cell powerplant comprises a fuel-cell stack, where the electro-chemical conversion of hydrogen and oxygen to electric power takes place, an electronic control unit, and an electric motor, as well as various peripherals. That whole integrated unit replaces the conventional engine and transmission to drive the front wheels.
Peak power from the fuel cell is rated at 93 kW (124 hp) and the nickel-metal-hydride battery pack, located beneath the rear seat footwell, can provide up to 35 kW (47 hp). That is similar to the output from the conventional Equinox's four-cylinder gasoline engine.
Three cylindrical fuel tanks, pressurized to 700 bar (10,000 psi) are mounted beneath the rear seat and between the rear wheels. There is no sacrifice of interior cabin space to accommodate the fuel-cell system components, and McCormick said the tanks can be fully refilled in five minutes.
According to Courtney Moody, Chevrolet's marketing director, the 100 vehicles will be assigned for varying periods, ranging to three years, to a broad range of users. Similar programs are planned subsequently for Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.
There are no current plans for distribution of the vehicles in Canada.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1158444613126&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851